Nursery containers are utilized extensively in the horticultural and nursery industry for growing, transporting, and marketing plants. The primary function of the nursery container, irrespective of its intended use (i.e., growing, transporting, or marketing), is to retain soil around the roots of a plant in order to keep the plant viable. As such, other needs, such as the displaying of pricing information, has to date been secondary when designing the nursery container.
Major retail stores prefer that pricing and/or bar code information be attached directly to the nursery container such that the information is not easily or inadvertently removed prior to check-out. The retail stores also prefer that the pricing information be conveniently located to permit the check-out personnel and customers to readily see the price of the item. Furthermore, in order to minimize lines at check-out counters, the retailers would like the pricing information to be consistently placed in the same location on each container to facilitate scanning and/or reading during check-out.
It has not, however, been feasible to address all these desires with existing nursery container designs since, as described above, conventional containers are designed with little, if any, attention to the displaying of information. As such, it has become customary for retailers to adhere pricing labels (such as bar codes) to the side or bottom of the nursery container. However, since these containers are exposed to dirt when the plant is placed within the container, a thin film of dirt can accumulate on the surface of the container making adhesion of the label difficult. Even if the label does initially adhere to the container, it may not be in the preferred location, or it may ultimately fall off prior to purchase.
As discussed above, it is also desirable to place information about the plant on the nursery container in a relatively conspicuous location. This allows the personnel at the nursery to arrange the plants by type and allows the ultimate purchaser to review the information about the plant prior to purchase. It has been conventional in the art to utilize plant stakes to display such information. These stakes are inserted into the soil of the plant near the container rim. However, it is quite common for these stakes to fall out of or be removed from the nursery container. This makes proper identification of the plant difficult and leaves the purchaser helpless as to proper care for the plant. Also, since many nurseries now utilize automated machines for pruning container grown plants, the stakes cannot be inserted into the containers until the plants are ready to ship to a retailer.
Another method for attaching pricing labels and product information to the nursery container is by stapling the information directly to the lip or side of the container. One drawback to this method of attaching the labels is that there is little or no consistency in where the information is located. Also, the staple may interfere with the information contained on the label, such as the bar code lines. It is also difficult to staple the labels to the container after the plant has been placed into the container. The individual attaching the label (e.g., the nursery or retail store personnel) must also have a suitable stapling tool. Furthermore, many customers complain that the staples ruin the appearance of the container and are extremely difficult to remove. Another drawback to the use of staples, especially in today's environmentally conscience society, is that the containers cannot be recycled with the staple still in the container. The purchaser or recycler must first remove the staple before recycling the container.
Yet another method for attaching price labels or other information to the container is by needling a plastic strip into the container side or lip. A placard is then attached to the other end of the strip. The primary drawback to this method of attaching pricing information is that it requires each nursery or retailer to have a needling tool to attach the plastic strip.
Due to the complexities associated with attaching labels to the containers, some nurseries have endeavored to attach pricing information directly to the plant stem or branch. However, labels attached directly to the plant can easily fall off and are difficult to locate during check-out, especially on large plants.
A need therefore exists for attaching a placard and/or other ancillary items to a nursery container so that the ancillary item is difficult to remove and is consistently and conveniently located.